As the Russians continue to bombard the capital city of Kyiv and more and more Ukrainians flee the city, Rav Yonatan Markovitch traveled in the opposite direction – into the heart of the besieged city from where he fled just a week ago.

Rav Markovitch said couldn’t let his kehilla celebrate Purim without him and returned there with his son Yechezkel before Purim to be with his congregants and tend to those who can’t leave, including Holocaust survivors, other elderly Jews, and others who can’t leave due to various circumstances.

“We visited a refugee camp and we met dozens of families who in the past were respected members of the kheilla,” Rav Markovitch told Arutz Sheva. “Now they’re in a refugee camp and they need our help. The Gemara says that a poor man who used to be wealthy needs to be helped before a poor person who was always poor – because the rich person was on a different level and he suffers more from the change.”

The Beis Chabad in Kyiv has continued to be active and assist the Jews in the city throughout the war. “We understand that it’s dangerous but we must help because unfortunately there’s no else who can do it,” Rav Markovitch said.

Anyone who wishes to assist the Beis Chabad in Kyiv can click here.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)